Barb taught each workshop under the trees by our pond and I think the only hiccups we experienced were the Canadian geese fighting on the pond as she was speaking during one of the workshops, and a low flying prop plane that buzzed us several times during another. Obviously word was out about the great time we were having and they all, fliers and fowl alike, wanted to get in on the fun.

I learned so much from Barb and I also learned a lot from the other photographers in attendance. Everyone was very willing to share what works for them, and I so wish we could have had more time to visit and really get to know each other. Barb packs her workshops with such an unbelievable amount of valuable information, I was glad I had three different opportunities to soak it all up.

I found myself on the fringe of most of the photo shoots, knowing I could probably call some of the models back for one-on-one practice sessions after the workshops were over. I've already asked a few of the moms, and they are all game to let me practice on their kiddos.

How nice is that?!

Here are a few of the shots I did get - Montana has the cutest kids on the planet!

So, with the workshops behind me, it's been back to life as normal around here. My hubby and I spent a much needed weekend just playing - something we hadn't done for months as all our together time had consisted of work, work, work.

Saturday morning we ate our way around our local farmers market and then later in the day took a drive to this beautiful mountain lake.

He kept shushing me in case there was a moose to be seen, and I kept talking loud in case there was a moose that wanted to chase me into the lake.

No moose. I win.

Sunday we went on a vertical hike to this lake.

I almost died, it was so steep. I've been here two other times and I don't remember my life flashing in front of my eyes before. I blame it on the high elevation and thin air, even though there's a good chance the elevation was similar the last time I went. Perhaps there really is something to all that global warming talk and the oceans rising and all. That would change the elevation, wouldn't it?

Regardless, it was steep and that's not all.....there were actually two more lakes just waiting to be visited above this one.

I had a serious heart to heart with my hubby and asked him if he really wanted to have to carry me all the way back to the car or should we just call it a day at the first lake and he said I could wait for him at the first lake, but then he wouldn't be able to protect me from the bears/moose/wolves that were just waiting in the bushes for a chance to get me and finally we reached a deal wherein I told him I'd go to the second lake, but couldn't guarantee the third, so off we went.

More huffing and puffing and high heart rates later, here is lake two.

And here's my very own mountain goat checking his GPS and calculating whether he can get another 400 feet of elevation gain out of his pathetic excuse for a hiking partner.

Too make a long, painful, and pretty darn boring story short, we made it to the third lake.

On our way back down we stopped at a scenic overlook. Gorgeous craggy mountains in every direction.

And then in this direction, a sight that's much too familiar to residents of the Mountain West.

From here, it was hard to tell exactly where the fire was, but as we drove home, it became apparent it was in our very own neck of the woods.

Summer fires are inevitable around here, but it's usually August before they start breaking out. This one was probably caused by a lightning strike last week. It's not as close as it looks - probably a good twelve miles away from us back in the wilderness, but we can already smell the smoke and hear the helicopters overhead. Hopefully, it won't get much worse than this, but we've had summers where the smoke is so thick we don't see the sun for weeks on end.

So, that sums up what's happening in my corner of the world. My favorite time of year is slipping away much too fast for my liking and I need to find a way to put the brakes on.

July 19, 2010

Workshop two is over and workshop three starts tonight and before I know it - poof - it will all be over.

What will I do with myself then?

I broke out my camera for this one and got a few shots I really like. I'm playing around a bit with my processing and I'm really curious what style I'll eventually end up making my own.

I like too much. There are just so many fun, different ways to go....vintage, color pop, soft and dreamy, clear and crisp and on and on. So, for now it's a little of this and a little of that and we'll just have to see where I end up.

Once again the workshop was fabulous. It's been great meeting new friends from all around the country and getting to see so many amazing photographers at work.

My little niece, who is modeling for all three workshops, is getting a bit of a paparazzi complex. I'm not sure what she'll do when she no longer has the click of fifteen cameras chasing her two year old little self around on a regular basis. It's going to be a let down for all of us when this is over!

July 13, 2010

The first workshop is over, and it was truly wonderful. Barb is an absolutely amazing teacher, and I've already learned so much my head is about to explode. I can't wait to get out and put it all into practice. If you're a photographer and ever get a chance to go to a JinkyArt workshop.....GO! You'll be so glad you did.

My camera stayed in its bag for most of the time on this first go round, but it will definitely be making an appearance for the next one. The workshop participants were all so very talented and nice, the weather cooperated (my biggest worry), and the models were absolutely adorable and very photogenic. I don't think it could have gone better.

One down, two to go.

I have had so much fun getting to know my new friends from Down Under. Barb is traveling with her lovely family and two friends/Girl Fridays extraordinaire. They are good people - lots and lots of fun and so very, very nice. (So fun and so nice I had to double the adverbs, or modifiers or whatever "lots" and "very" are, in order to do them justice.)

As you can see by my post title, I'm trying desperately to get my Aussie on, but I think I've got a bit to go. My favorite new vocabulary word is grotty, which perfectly describes the bag of garbage I went through today (from last Friday), (that's four day old garbage in case you're keeping track), (and it's been in the 90's), (yum), in order to try and find the fork (borrowed from my mother-in-law) that went missing after our first dinner. Fortunately, the wayward utensil was toward the top.

The next workshop starts Wednesday, so I should be back soon with some fun photos to share.

July 6, 2010

This darling baby boy came to my house last week. At exactly one week old, (one week!! A brand new little person - always blows my mind), this little fella was so easy and fun to play with.

Tyler was so very, very sweet, totally laid back and mellow.

Mell-o.

The only rise we got out of him was during the much despised diaper change, but as soon as that nonsense was over, he quickly returned to his happy place.

Side note: Spent eons, seriously...days almost, trying to arrange the laundry basket to look casual and finally resorted to just tossing the blankets in willy nilly, which gave me the best result. I think I need a stylist. And maybe a therapist. And okay, maybe I didn't spend eons or almost days arranging the basket, but it seemed like it.

Side note #2: A baby in a plain white onesie...be still my heart.

Tyler's grandma and I have been friends for a while now, and when I heard she had a grandbaby on the way, I was quick to reserve a date with the little guy as soon as he arrived.

What a sweetie, totally sacked out.

Once again, I learned a lot from this little session. Things I'll do differently next time, and things that worked well. Thank you so much to mom and grandma for letting me experiment and for being such good sports with all my crazy prop ideas. (We had more, just didn't get to them!)

We had so much fun. I could do this all day long. Every day.

Dear Baby Tyler,Welcome to the world, little fella! You were the ultimate good sport - don't forget to take me up on my ice cream offer when you're ready for dairy products.I miss you already little buddy.....come back and visit anytime!Your friend,Teresa